Chapter 68

"By the way, just how many stars are you, Dou Huang?" Xiao Yan asked slowly.

"Three stars."

"What about the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King? How many stars would it be?" Xiao Yan frowned and asked.

"Magical beasts don't have clear star rankings. If we're comparing Dou Techniques or Dou Qi, it can at best match a Two-Star Dou Huang. But magical beasts excel at close-range combat using their bodies. The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's close combat is comparable to that of a Four-Star or even Five-Star Dou Huang."

Flying straight ahead without looking aside, Yun Yun said calmly, "Combined, its overall strength might be considered Three-Star Dou Huang—equal to mine."

"This time, I won't lose."

It was dusk. Xiao Yan and Yun Yun knew the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's purple crystals absorbed sunlight, so they chose this time—when the creature couldn't absorb sunlight—to ensure it wouldn't necessarily be a match for Yun Yun, who knew a Earth-Rank technique.

Xiao Yan turned his head toward Yun Yun and grinned. "Remember, be harsh with your tone."

Yun Yun shot him an annoyed glance. "Who's the Dou Huang here—you or me? Why am I taking orders from you?"

"Just take care of yourself."

Yun Yun tossed off a cold remark, then activated her Dou Qi and accelerated straight toward the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's den—her Wind-type Dou Huang speed was terrifyingly swift.

Soon after, four hundred-meter-tall green tornadoes appeared in the distance, surrounding the cave entrance from all four sides. The terrifying tornadoes raged, hurling every magical beast around the Lion King into the sky.

A Dou Huang's attack is truly world-shattering. Even just a single Arcane-Rank High-Level Dou Technique can rival the power of Heavenly Might.

"Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, come out, you old hag! Today, I'll make your entire territory tremble!"

Hearing Yun Yun follow their plan, Xiao Yan nearly laughed out loud—it was clearly prearranged: Yun Yun would provoke the Lion King, while he slipped stealthily into the cave to search for Purple Spirit Crystals.

"You human woman, you seek death!! Today, I'll grind you to dust and scatter your bones!!" The moment Yun Yun attacked the entire territory, the Lion King, as its ruler, could not endure it—the furious roar erupted violently into the sky.

As the roar sounded, a purple shadow shot out from the cave like lightning. Instantly, brilliant light blazed forth, and the dense forest was instantly reduced to ruins.

Two beams—one green, one purple—chased each other straight into the sky, then clashed fiercely at a height of a thousand meters.

Seeing the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King now distracted by Yun Yun, Xiao Yan instantly dropped his smile. He donned his black Soul Robe, pulled the hood low, and his eyes turned cold and sharp.

Thanks to the Soul Robe, Xiao Yan masked his aura and spiritual soul. After retracting his Purple Cloud Wings, he plunged into the dense forest.

He knew the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King would scan for him with its perception, but it could never imagine he possessed something as rare as a Soul Robe.

On the ground lay numerous magical beasts that had been flung skyward by the tornadoes and fallen dead. Xiao Yan even spotted the corpse of a Four-Tier Magical Beast—but he had no time to collect Magic Cores; otherwise, this would've been a fortune.

His feet swiftly leapt over the corpses, and soon he reached the massive entrance of the cave.

Xiao Yan slightly crouched, then shot forward into the cave.

Xiao Yan didn't use any lighting tools. Occasionally, purple crystal fragments were embedded in the cave walls—natural formations, valuable decorative items.

After passing through the long cave passage, two branching paths appeared before him.

Frowning at the two paths, Xiao Yan paused, then looked down at the footprints on the ground. The right path bore small lion paw prints—he knew another young Purple Crystal Winged Lion King dwelled inside the den.

Without doubt, the right path led to the young Lion King's chamber.

"Left!" Xiao Yan didn't want to encounter the young Lion King—it was a Top-Tier Three-Tier Magical Beast, and he wasn't sure he could defeat it.

If the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame was truly here, he'd hit the jackpot.

The left path was winding. Xiao Yan turned several times, and as he went deeper, he suddenly noticed the infernal heat around him growing stronger.

This filled Xiao Yan with wild joy—it proved he hadn't taken the wrong path!

After walking a while, the passage suddenly glowed. Xiao Yan's face lit up; he quickened his pace and stepped out. A spacious stone chamber appeared before him.

Inside the chamber lay various Spirit Fruits and fire-element medicinal materials. Xiao Yan even spotted weapons belonging to cultivators on the ground.

"This is the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's treasure vault!"

Miao! ψ(*｀ー)ψ

Mao Wu suddenly emerged from his Spirit Vessel, appearing in mid-air above a spherical object at the center of the chamber—this sphere was the source of the entire passage's intense heat!

A pile of purple crystals, over a meter tall, formed a square platform. Resting atop it was a purple, spherical object the size of Xiao Yan's head, quietly lying still.

Seeing the swirling purple radiance on the sphere, Xiao Yan suddenly recalled a passage from a book on magical beasts describing the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King.

When giving birth to offspring, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King has an extremely rare chance of producing something called a Companion Purple Crystal Origin.

It is a precious fire-elemental treasure, and only Purple Spirit Crystals can shatter its outer shell.

Seeing the Companion Purple Crystal Origin, Xiao Yan was speechless. He urged, "You're interested in something on par with the Ice Spirit Cold Spring? Quickly check if the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame is here!"

Since joining the Soul Hall, Xiao Yan had learned how to put on airs.

Things of this caliber? I've got a whole crate in my Spirit Ring! And removing this sphere is difficult—either you dig through the ground and take the entire crystal platform, or you smash the shell with Purple Spirit Crystals to extract its essence.

Right now, Xiao Yan hadn't found the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame or any Purple Spirit Crystals—he had no time to deal with this thing.

Miao!!! Mao Wu gave him a look of utter exasperation, dashed over, and scratched his cheeks several times. Then, as Xiao Yan stared in confusion, Mao Wu opened its mouth wide into a black hole.

Swallowed the entire sphere whole!

"Kuang! Awesome!"

No wonder it's Void Swallowing Flame—it can swallow anything.

As Xiao Yan marveled at Mao Wu's swallowing ability, a blood-red flame suddenly sprouted from the central gap in the remaining Purple Crystal Platform.

"Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame!"

The instant he saw the flame, Xiao Yan lunged forward. He never imagined the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame had been sealed inside the Purple Crystal Platform, used to heat the Companion Purple Crystal Origin!

"Huh? No, this Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame is so weak—and it has no Origin Flame Seed."

"This is the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame?!"

Only when Xiao Yan drew closer did he realize: yes, it was indeed Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame—but not the Origin Flame. It was merely a fragment extracted from the original and sealed within the platform to heat the Companion Purple Crystal Origin.

That's why, when Xiao Yan first entered, his Soul Force scan had missed the tiny flame inside the platform—it was too weak, and sealed within the stone.

Only Mao Wu, another Spiritual Flame with a touch of sentience, could detect it by its innate Spiritual Flame nature.

As Xiao Yan silently lamented, a shadow silently appeared behind him.